Asheville attracts more wintering birds

Unusual birds at your winter feeder? Blame 'irruptions'

10:17 PM,
Nov. 18, 2012

The evening grosbeak.

Written by

George Ellison
| Nature Journal

Every year certain bird species that breed farther north overwinter in our region: purple finches, hermit thrushes, white-throated sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, etc. Some winters there will be an influx of northern bird species not seen here with regularity.

Ornithologists refer to these events as "irruptions."

John C. Kricher describes the phenomenon in "A Field Guide to Eastern Forests of North America" (1988): "These dramatic mass movements ... are unusual both because they involve large numbers of birds and because, unlike migration, they are not generally predictable. ...